Face in the Stars
by Trinity Day
Summary: post Season 3 Finale What happened on their summer on the boat. PaceyJoey fic.


_This is my first even DC fic. It's a Pacey/Joey story. The prologue takes place immediately after _A Weekend in the Country _and the rest takes place after Season 3 finale, _True Love. _Oh, it is written with knowledge of a cut scene in the finale. Basically Pacey leaves a day early which is why Joey has time to go and get changed. Then Doug tells her he's leaving early and she runs to stop him. Enjoy!_

* * *

**Face in the Stars  
Prologue**

He was watching her sleep. He studied her face by the firelight. She looked so peaceful, so innocent, so perfect.

He sighed and she stirred. He froze for a moment, afraid she would wake up and catch him. But before he could do anything, she opened her eyes.

She looked at him, still half asleep and smiled. "Pacey," she said.

"Hey Jo," he replied, the word catching in his throat.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"Late," Pacey told her. "You should go back to sleep."

"Okay," Joey said. She was too tired to argue. She turned slightly causing the blankets to fall off of her.

Without thinking Pacey immediately got up and fixed the blankets around her, tucking her in tight for the second time that night.

Joey snuggled in tighter to the couch and Pacey knew she had gone back to sleep. Suddenly unable to resist the urge, he leaned down and kissed her gently on the cheek.

"Good night," he whispered.

In her sleep, Joey smiled blissfully. To Pacey's great surprise, she answered, "G'night. Luv ya."

He words were slurred and Pacey knew she was still fast asleep. Even though he knew she didn't mean them, she was only talking in her sleep, his heart leaped when he heard her speak, or rather mumble, those words. One day he hoped she would speak those words when she was conscious and knew what she was saying.

Pacey looked down on the sleeping Joey, smiling bitter-sweetly, his eyes full of love. "I love you too, Joey," he whispered.

Pacey sat down in his chair and resumed his vigilance for the remainder of the night. Shortly before dawn he realized that he should get going. It would never do to have Joey wake up and see him there. She hadn't really woken up completely during the night and there was a very good chance she wouldn't remember a thing. Besides, there was the off-chance that his family may be starting to wonder where he was. So he left quietly just as the sun came up over the horizon.

Joey woke up a little while later with a vague recollection of something happening during the middle of the night. Something involving Pacey. She opened her eyes expecting to see him in front of her. But when she saw no one there, she dismissed it as a dream. It was forgotten by breakfast.

* * *

**Part 1**

"Joey, is that you?" Bessie called out when she heard her sister enter the house. "How was the wedding?" She came out into the hallway just to see her sister race through the house and into the room. Bessie followed her so that she was standing in the doorway of Joey's bedroom.

"The wedding was great," Joey, who was busy tearing off her bridesmaid dress as quickly as she could without ripping it, answered.

"Why are you back so early? What's wrong?" Bessie asked, concerned, as she watched her younger sister pull some clothes out of the drawer and throw them on.

"Nothing's wrong, Bessie, and nothing will be wrong unless I don't find Pacey in time."

"What?" Bessie was confused. Last she heard Pacey and Joey were avoiding each other so that Joey could attempt to mend her friendship with Dawson.

"Pacey's going to Key West for the summer if I don't get there in time," Joey explained. She had finished getting dress and was now heading for the door again.

"Are you going to ask him to stay then?"

Joey turned around and shook her head. "no, I already had that chance."

"Then what are you going to do then?" Bessie asked as Joey started sprinting away.

"Go with him," Joey called back.

There was a pause then Bessie screeched, "What!" But it was too late; Joey was already out of hearing range. And Bodie was out with the truck. She started to run after Joey but gave up quickly. There was no way Bessie would be able to catch up with her.

* * *

There was someone at the door. Doug Witter opened and found out that someone was a furious looking Bessie Potter.

"Is your brother here?" she asked.

"No," Doug shook his head. "He's gone for the summer. He left this afternoon."

"Damn," she sword. "I was hoping they hadn't left yet. I suppose I should've known when I saw his boat was gone."

"Well, he wasn't supposed to leave until to tomorrow, but something came up and he decided to leave early." Then, "They?" Doug wondered what had happened that made Bessie so upset.

"Him and my idiotic sister." Bessie's eyes were flashing.

"What are you talking about?" Doug demanded even though he had a suspicion he knew what she meant.

"What I'm trying to say," Bessie said, "is that Joey went with Pacey on this cruise or vacation or whatever this is."

"She what?" Doug yelped.

Bessie nodded grimly. "Without asking my permission, may I add."

"When did this happen?" asked Doug.

"As far as I can figure out, about two minutes before they left," Bessie told him.

"This is not what I had planned when I told her," Doug muttered.

Bessie's eyes narrowed and she took a menacing step closer to him. "You did what?" she asked in a low, dangerous tone.

Doug took a step back despite himself. "I told her Pacey was going to leave for the summer. I had to. He wasn't about to."

"So?" Bessie challenged. "Maybe that would've been for the best."

Dough snorted. "They both would've been miserable."

"How do you know that?"

"Have you seen the two of them? They're head over heels for each other."

"So your answer was to send them off all alone in a tiny little boat?" Bessie yelled.

"No," Doug protested. "I never expected them to do that. I thought Joey would get Pacey to stay. I never dreamed she would go off with him."

"Well, she did." Bessie sighed and her shoulders sagged a little in resignation. "What're his plans, then."

Doug shrugged. "He didn't really have any plans. He's supposed to stay near shore and call once a week so we know he's still alive, but other than that, I think he's just going to do what he pleases."

"That's it?" Bessie asked skeptically. "That's all you know?"

Doug nodded, a grim smile on his face. "That's all the rules dad gave him."

Bessie sighed. "Well if he calls, tell him that I want to talk with Joey ASAP." There was steel in her voice when she said the last bit. It was not a conversation he envied Joey.

"I'll pass the message along," he promised.

"Well, then, I guess I should get going." Now that she had finished worrying about Joey Bessie suddenly looked uncomfortable to be in Doug's apartment.

"Yeah, you probably should," Doug agreed. He saw her to the door. "Bye," he said.

"Bye." She smiled faintly at him and left.

* * *

The phone rang and Bessie answered it with the standard, "Potter B&B, how may I help you?"

"Bessie?" asked the muffled voice on the other end of the line, "It's Joey."

"Joey!" Bessie exclaimed. "Where are you?"

"Not that far from the New York state border, actually. A little town, you probably haven't heard of it."

"What're you doing there?"

"It was the first stop on our way done," Joey explained.

"I can't believe you actually went off with Pacey. What were you thinking? You didn't ask! You didn't even pack a change of clothes!"

"Pacey wasn't supposed to leave for another day," Joey whined. "I found Doug and he told me Pacey was leaving early. I had no time to ask permission or pack or anything."

"Then why were you in such a hurry when you came home to get changed?" Bessie asked, perplexed.

"Because I wanted to find Pacey as quickly as I could."

"Then why bother coming home to change at all?"

Bessie could imagine her sister rolling her eyes as she answered. "Do you remember my dress? I wasn't about to go trapaizing about town in that."

"So you had enough time to change but not enough time to ask my permission to go," Bessie accused.

"Look Bessie," Joey began. "I didn't mean for things to happen the way they did. I was fully expecting to find Pacey and tell him my decision and still have a day to pack and ask permission and all that. But instead Pacey insisted we start out right away. You can hardly blame me for that. Besides," she added. "You would've said yes anyways."

"How do you know that?" Bessie demanded.

"You were the one telling me I should get out of town for awhile this summer. It's not going to cost much, and I'll be out of your hair for three whole months. What more can you ask for?"

"When I said that," Bessie said, not bothering to hide her irritation, "I didn't mean for you to go off with her boyfriend all alone for three months. A boyfriend, may I add, that you'd been going out with for a grand total of two seconds."

"It's Pacey," Joey exclaimed. "I've known him my whole life. You've known him for his own life. It's not like I went off with some stranger."

Bessie knew she couldn't argue with that. At least not effectively. Instead she said helplessly, "You didn't even bring a change of clothes."

"I know," Joey said darkly. "I'm making Pacey pay for my wardrobe since he refused to wait for me to get my own."

"Put Pacey on," Bessie demanded.

Joey complied and a second later Bessie heard Pacey's voice. "Hey Bessie. The lovely Miss Josephine tells me you want to speak to me. What can I do for you?"

"Why wouldn't you let Joey get some stuff before you left?" Bessie asked without preamble.

"What? No 'hi Pacey,' no 'how're you doing,' just - oomph. What was that for, Joey?" he asked, annoyed. It seemed as if Joey had sensed her sister's anger and was resorting to violence to keep Pacey from inciting Bessie further.

"Shut up, Pacey," Bessie thought she heard Joey say.

"Well I can hardly shut up and talk to your sister at the same time, now, can I?" Pacey retorted.

"Pacey," Bessie nearly growled, bringing the teen's attention back to the phone call.

"I would've," Pacey said in an apologetic manner, "but you see, I had a schedule to keep. I was already running late and I couldn't be delayed any longer."

"You can cut the crap, Pacey," Bessie told him. "I talked to your brother. I already know you have nothing resembling plans much less a schedule. Besides, you weren't even supposed to leave for another day. So there's no way you were behind schedule."

"I suppose one could look at it in that way," Pacey said.

"Yes, one could," Bessie said pointedly. "So what's the real reason?"

There was a hesitation at the other end of the line and Bessie was struck with a sudden insight. "you were afraid of her changing her mind, weren't you," she accused. "You thought if you gave her time she would think it over and realize she was making a huge mistake."

The silence on Pacey's side told Bessie she was right. She continued in a softer tone. "Well, you didn't have to worry. If my sister's anything, she's stubborn and once she's made up her mind, very little on their Earth can make her change it."

"Yeah, I've noticed that too," Pacey said weakly.

Bessie sighed. "Well I suppose there's nothing left to do except wish you guys a good trip."

"You mean you're not going to make us go back?" Pacey blurted out.

Bessie raised an eyebrow even though Pacey couldn't see it through the phone. "I wasn't planning to. But if you relay want me to . . . "

"No, that's alright," Pacey said hastily.

Bessie suppressed a laugh. Then she sobered up. "Take care of her, Pacey," she said seriously. "I expect you both back in one piece."

"Yes ma'am."

"And Pacey?" Bessie asked.

"Yes?"

"I expect regular phone calls."

"Will do," Pacey promised.

"Have fun."

Bessie hung up the phone. She wasn't mad, not really. She knew that Pacey and Joey were responsible. Well, as responsible as two sixteen year olds could be. And they were madly in love. They could use some time alone, time to get to know each other without any ex-girlfriends or boyfriends or other meddling friends around to muck up their relationship. The two of them had had enough of that around Capeside and Bessie was just glad that they were giving it another chance. They deserved a little happiness after everything they had been through.

* * *

**Part 2**

"It's very beautiful, don't you think?" Joey remarked softly. She was snuggled up beside Pacey. His arm was around her shoulder.

"Yeah," Pacey agreed. "It is."

"Kind of a cliché, though, don't you think? Us sailing off into the sunset."

"Don't," Pacey said, a pained expression on his face.

"Don't?" Joey repeated, confused.

"Don't go analytical on me. This isn't a movie. This is real life. Just sit back and enjoy it."

She did. Joey snuggled in closer to Pacey and watched the sun as it went down. She felt the wind in her face and she closed her eyes. Everything was very peaceful until, "Pacey, when are you going to turn around?"

"Why would I do that?" he asked.

"Hmm," Joey said sarcastically, pretending to think it over. "Maybe because I have no clothes? I wasn't prepared for this trip? I need to ask Bessie?"

Pacey shrugged. "You should've thought of that before," he said, heartlessly.

"No, seriously, Pacey, turn the boat around."

"Nope."

"Pacey," Joey pouted.

Pacey just shook his head. Joey tried a different approach. This time she growled his name. He still refused to give in. The sun finally set, escaping the bickering lovers.

* * *

It was getting cold out. The sun had set hours ago and night had settled in. Joey shivered and Pacey wrapped a blanket around her.

Joey looked up at him and smiled. "Thanks," she said.

"You looked cold," Pacey said, sitting down next to her.

"Maybe it's because the clothes I'm wearing are meant for warm weather and I have no sweaters to change into," Joey said sharply. Their argument had ended ages ago and Joey was bitter than Pacey had won.

Pacey rolled his eyes. "I thought we'd settled that."

It was true. Joey had finally given up after he promised to pay for her new clothes himself knowing that she wasn't going to change his mind. "Yeah," she said, "but I'm still mad about it."

Pacey got up and yawned. "I'm tired," he said. "I'm heading off to bed. You comin'?"

Joey got up too. "Yeah," she said.

There was only one bed. Pacey hadn't expected anyone else would be coming on the trip with him and it was a rather small boat. So they were going to have to share.

Pacey unabashedly stripped down to his boxers in front of Joey. Joey just stood there, unsure of what to do. She didn't have any other clothes, but she didn't relish the idea of spending the night in the ones she was wearing. Before she could decide what to do, Pacey tossed her one of his larger shirts. Joey caught it and asked why he was giving it to her.

"You can wear it to bed. I'm sure it's a hell of a lot more comfortable than what you're wearing right now. Unless, of course," he leered, "You'd rather just sleep in the nude. You'll have no objections from me about that."

Joey rolled her eyes and whacked him with his shirt. "Turn around," she ordered.

Grumbling good-naturedly, Pacey obeyed. Joey quickly stripped out of her clothes and put on Pacey's shirt.

"Okay," she said when she was finished. "You can turn around now." Pacey did and then they had to face the awkwardness of actually getting into bed together. At least Joey thought it would be awkward. Pacey seemed to disagree with her, judging by the way he leapt into bed with no inhibitions. After a couple of seconds of hesitation Joey sighed and joined him.

Joey fully expected to spend the night in agonizing consciousness. That's what had happened the last time she had shared a bed with Pacey at Dawson's Aunt Gwen. She had not slept a wink until about dawn because she was too aware of the body in the bed next to her. But instead Joey fell straight to sleep and slept better than she had in a long time.

* * *

"Hello?"

"Hey Dougie," Pacey said cheerfully. "It's me. Just doing my obligatory weekly phone call."

"Pacey," Doug said in surprise. "I wasn't expecting to hear from you for awhile yet."

"Yeah, well I'm in port now, so I thought I may as well phone you and get it over with."

"Is Joey with you?" Doug asked.

"Yeah," Pacey said, confused. "How'd you hear?"

"A certain sister of hers stopped by," Doug told him.

Pacey winced. "Is she mad?"

Doug laughed. "Let's just say I'm glad I'm not either of you right now. Have you phoned her yet?"

"Not exactly," said Pacey. "I think we were both trying to put it off as long as we could."

"Don't," Doug advised him. "I was given explicit instructions to tell you to call her ASAP. The longer you put it off the madder she'll be."

Pacey sighed. "You're probably right. Well, then, I should get going. Talk ta ya in a week."

"Bye Pacey," Doug said, hanging up the phone.

* * *

"So are we off again?" Joey asked when Pacey came back to the boat.

He shook his head. "Not exactly. I talked to Doug. Apparently your sister came to visit him. Basically we'd better call her now or risk even greater wrath."

"Damn," Joey groaned. "I was hoping to give her some time to cool off."

"Well Deputy Doug seems to think that's a bad idea." He pulled a reluctant Joey up. "C'mon sweetheart. It's time to pay the piper."

Joey dragged her feet. "But I don't wanna," she pouted.

Pacey didn't relent. "We all have to do things we don't want to," he said philosophically.

"Fine," Joey said. "But I'm blaming everything on you."

They had reached the payphone. Pacey fished some change out of his pocket and fed it to the machine. Joey nervously dialed her home phone number and played with the cord while it rang. Finally Bessie picked up.

She was mad, but not nearly as mad as Joey expected her to be. When Bessie asked for Pacey, Joey sighed in relief. It looked like she was off the hook.

Of course as soon as he got on the phone Pacey started to piss Bessie off. Not wanting him to ruin their chances of continuing on the vacation, Joey smacked him.

"What was that for?" he demanded.

"Shut up, Pacey," Joey hissed.

"Well, I can hardly shut up and talk to your sister at the same time now, can I?" Pacey retorted, being a complete jerk.

"Pacey," Joey growled.

Pacey ignored her and his attention went back to Bessie on the phone.

Joey waited impatiently while Pacey talked to her sister. It was infuriating trying to figure out what they were talking about when she could only hear one side of the conversation. She knew they were talking about her, but she didn't know what they were saying and that only made it worse.

"Well?" she asked expectantly when he finally hung up the payphone. "What did she say?"

"She said to have fun," Pacey told her.

Joey raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"No, really," Pacey insisted. "She did."

"I thought she was going to order us back," Joey confessed. "And kill me a thousand times when we got there."

"Me too," Pacey admitted.

"Did she really say 'have fun?'"

Pacey nodded. He pulled Joey in for a kiss. "I think we should take her advice," he said.

Joey returned the kiss. "I agree," she murmured.

* * *

**Part 3**

After a while Joey broke off the kiss. "As much as I hate to stop," she said, "you promised to take me shopping."

Pacey didn't bother to suppress his groan. "I was kinda hoping you'd forgotten," he admitted.

"Not likely," Joey said. "Trust me, if I had to wear the same thing for a week you'd be beating yourself up that you didn't buy me a change of clothes when you'd had the chance."

Pacey wrinkled his nose. "Point taken," he said. "C'mon."

They went to the store and Joey got about a weeks worth of clothes, all of which she knew she was going to be very sick of by the end of the summer.

Joey had finished picking out her clothes but still needed undergarments. She kept on dropping hints, some not-too-subtle, to Pacey to leave her alone so she could get them. As comfortable as she was around Pacey, she wasn't that comfortable yet. Pacey ignored every one of her hints.

Finally Joey was fed up and blurted out, "Go away, Pacey. I need to get bras and underwear."

Pacey seemed unperturbed about the revelation. "I know that Potter," he said. "you've been tiptoeing around the subject for the last twenty minutes." He was exaggerating, of course. It hadn't been going on for that long. But still Joey became even more annoyed to find out he knew what she had been talking about all along.

"Then why are you still following me?" she demanded.

Pacey put on a mask of innocence and right away Joey knew he was about to do or say something outlandish. "Well, you _are_ modeling them for me, aren't you?" Pacey said, making it sound more like a statement than a question.

"What?" Joey nearly screeched. She had not been prepared for that.

"I said you are - " Pacey began but Joey cut him off again almost immediately.

"Why in the world would that deluded brain of yours think that?" she snapped.

"Well it is my right, you know," Pacey said. "I'm paying for the clothes. It's only fair that I should see if I'm getting my money's worth." It was too much work for Pacey to keep his straight face. He was now smiling winsomely at Joey, but she could still see a mischievous glint in his hazel eyes.

Wordlessly she shoved her clothes into his arms and stalked off towards the lingerie department.

"Wait!" Pacey called out, sounding wounded. "You didn't answer me. Don't you agree with my logic?" He started to follow after her.

She whirled around to face him. "Stay," she said dangerously. There was something in her voice that told Pacey he had better obey.

Once Joey was in the change room she allowed herself to burst out laughing. Only Pacey, she thought with a shake of her head.

Joey quickly finished picking out clothes and soon she and Pacey were standing in line. Joey winced when she saw the price everything came to. She had tried to pick out cheap stuff, but when added all together it still ended up being quite expensive.

Pacey saw the wince and immediately knew what she was thinking. "Don't worry, Jo, it's fine," he assured her.

"I feel guilty," Joey said. "This is costing you a lot."

"It's okay, Jo. I owe you, remember? It's my fault you don't have any clothes."

"But - "

"No but's, Joey," Pacey said firmly.

Joey ignored him. "But how're you going to pay for all this?" she wanted to know.

"I have my ways," Pacey said, attempting to sound mysterious.

Joey said nothing but raised one eyebrow, gazing at him in disbelief.

Pacey gave in. "I've been saving for this. It's not like I have to spend any money often back at home. I don't have much of a life. I was planning on blowing everything on this trip anyways. Don't worry."

Pacey smiled at her, letting her know everything was okay. Joey smiled back, only somewhat appeased. She made up her mind to repay him when they got back to Capeside, at least partly. She knew he would argue but Joey knew she could find some way to convince him.

The cashier handed Joey and Pacey the bags, wishing them a nice day and won't they please come again.

They returned to the boat and Joey changed right away, grateful to get out of her old clothes. At least she had changed out of the dress from the wedding. Joey shuddered when she thought about spending the entire time in that instead of the more or less comfortable outfit that she had ended up wearing.

No, she decided, there was no way she would have allowed Pacey to leave without letting her pack if that had been the case.

"You decent?" Pacey asked, calling down into the bedroom.

"Yeah," Joey replied absently. She began to brush her hair.

Pacey came into the room with mock disappointment on his face. "I'm too late then," he said mournfully.

Joey rolled her eyes.

"But," Pacey mused. "I suppose there're going to be plenty more opportunities before the trip is over. You still owe me a fashion show, don't forget."

"In your dreams," Joey said. "Do you ever think about what you're saying? Or do the words bypass your brain and go straight from purely hormonal impulses to your mouth?"

Pacey grinned broadly back at her. "Do you even need to ask?"

Joey felt a smile tugging on her lips despite her efforts to keep it from forming.

"Why, am I seeing things or did the lovely Miss Josephine just crack a smile?" Pacey asked, pretending to be astonished.

"Did you have a purpose in coming down here or was it purely to torment me?" asked Joey.

"That's my sole purpose in life, Potter, to torment you," Pacey said with a sober face. "I thought you knew that by now."

"Well I can honestly say you excel at it," Joey replied.

"I'm hurt," Pacey said. His lower lip was trembling slightly and he pouted for a minute. Then he straightened up. "No, seriously, I came down here for a reason."

Pacey paused for a breath and Joey immediately prompted, "And that would be . . . "

Pacey scowled at her. "I was just getting to that. I came down here to see if you'd like to go out for dinner."

"Sure," Joey agreed. "Just give me a couple more minutes to finish getting ready."

"What else do you need to do?" Pacey asked, perplexed.

Joey fixed him with a look that said everything and Pacey left, muttering about females and the abnormal amount of time it took them to get ready for anything.

Dinner was uneventful and inexpensive. Joey insisted on paying for it because Pacey had already spent too much that day on her wardrobe. Pacey gave in without too much of a fight.

After dinner they strolled through town, hand in hand, under the stars. It was peaceful and neither of them said much, both content just to enjoy each other's company in silence. Eventually they made their way back to True Love. The gentle rocking of the waves against the boat quickly lulled them to sleep.

* * *

Pacey and Joey soon settled into a routine. They pulled into port every day or two and took in the sights. It was slow going, but neither of them was in any particular rush to get to the Keys. The slow pace was enjoyed much more than a quicker one would have been.

Regular phone calls were made to Doug and Bessie, reporting their progress. Their two siblings were now much more supportive than they had originally been, but neither Joey nor Pacey were sure how long that would last once they arrived back in Capeside. Joey especially was certain that Bessie would forget all about having forgiven Joey when her younger sister arrived home. And Joey didn't even want to think about what would happen with Dawson. But that was still a long ways off.

They were arriving in Key West tomorrow. Their journey down was incredible and Joey knew after tomorrow things would change. They would no longer be making a trip, they would be at their destination.

Pacey kept on arguing with her that their journey had really just begun. Joey wasn't sure if he really didn't understand what she meant or if he was simply arguing about it for the sake of arguing. Or it could be that he actually meant something by it.

Joey was sitting above deck, watching the moon rise. It was slowly creeping its way up towards the heavens. Millions of stars twinkled and winked at her.

"People always tell you how much brighter the stars are without any lights around, but it's hard to believe it until you see it for yourself," Pacey said softly. Joey jumped slightly. She hadn't heard him come up behind her.

"You're right," she agreed.

Pacey sat down beside her and put his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him. Joey snuggled in so that she was now half-leaning, half-lying on Pacey.

"It almost seems list they're dancing," Joey commented.

Pacey was silent for a minute before revealing, "Before we left Doug was telling me I'd regret it if I left you. That I'd look up at the sky at night and see your face in the stars."

"Oh," Joey said, for lack of something better. She didn't know what he was getting at.

"He was wrong, you know," Pacey told her. "At least partially. He's right about regretting leaving you. I would've died if I didn't see you for the entire summer."

"Then why were you willing to leave so easily?" Joey asked in a small voice.

"It wasn't easy," Pacey said with a dry, humourless, laugh. "But I thought it was my only option. If you didn't want me to stay, there was no point in me staying, no matter how upset it would make me talking. But that's not what I was talking about."

Joey didn't say anything, just waited for him to go on and explain what he meant.

"Even with you here I still see your face in the stars. See, you're up there, tin that group of stars." He pointed to a cluster of stars a little ways off from the Big Dipper.

Joey giggled. In turn she pointed to another group close by to the ones Pacey was referring to. "See right there? That's you. That one's your nose, and those two are your eyes." She cuddled in closer to her boyfriend. "Your brother's a smart guy," she said.

"He has his moments," Pacey allowed.

They were silent for a few more minutes before Joey suddenly asked, "Do you think there really is a man on the moon?"

Pacey was caught off-guard. "I can't say I've given it much though," he admitted.

"I heard somewhere that in Japan, I think it was Japan, it was always a rabbit or bunny in the moon. I don't think it looks much like a bunny."

"I could never really even see a man. I can't see anything closely resembling a rabbit."

"That's what I thought," said Joey.

"What brought this on?" Pacey wanted to know.

Joey shrugged. "Dunno. Just curious, I guess."

Pacey also shrugged and although Joey couldn't see this, she felt the movement from the place on her chest where her head rested. There were a few more minutes of silence before Joey spoke again.

"You know I love you, don't you?" she asked, insecurely.

"You said so on the docks."

Joey turned to face him. "I mean it, Pace. I love you."

Pacey searched her eyes for a few seconds. "I love you too," he returned.

They kissed.

The End

August 29, 2000  
Trinity Day


End file.
